It is known to provide automated windshield wipers on road vehicles, such as automotive vehicles. A rain sensor is typically disposed behind the windshield to determine when a wipe action is required. The rain sensor detects moisture due to rain and outputs a measurement signal to an electronic control unit configured to control an operating speed and/or frequency of wiper motor. The rain sensor can, for example, comprise an optical sensor to detect optical reflectance and determine if a wipe action is required. The calibration of the rain sensor requires investment of engineering resources and may still provide unsatisfactory operation in certain scenarios. This problem can be compounded by varying usage of the windshield wipers by different users.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,676 to implement neural network to allow a user to train a control unit for an automated windshield wiper. The user selects a training mode and weighting factors relied on by the neural network are adjusted so that the output of the neural network matches the operating speed selected by the user.
Furthermore, it is known to provide road vehicles with automatic dipping headlights which transition from a full beam mode to a dipped mode (and vice versa) when an oncoming vehicle is detected. The oncoming vehicle can, for example, be detected using one or more onboard sensor, such as an optical sensor and/or a radar sensor. The onboard sensor outputs a measurement signal to an electronic control unit adapted to control operation of the headlights. Again, the electronic control unit requires calibration and may be susceptible to varying usage patterns by different users in certain operating conditions.
Furthermore, it is known to provide road vehicles with automatic sound volume adjustment for sound generating devices, such as an in-car entertainment system, when an increase in background noise is detected. The increase in background noise can, for example, be detected using one or more onboard sensor, such as an audio transducer. The onboard sensor outputs a measurement signal to an electronic control unit adapted to control operation of the sound generating device. Again, the electronic control unit requires calibration and may be susceptible to varying usage patterns by different users in certain operating conditions.
At least in certain embodiments, the present invention sets out to overcome or ameliorate at least some of the problems associated with prior art control systems.